SAN DIEGO: Curfew report released

SAN DIEGO - More than 3,100 juveniles were picked up by
authorities in curfew sweeps during the last fiscal year, according
to a report presented Wednesday to a San Diego City Council
committee.

The San Diego Police Department, in conjunction with the Gang
Commission, county Probation Department and various community
organizations, conducted 46 curfew sweeps between July 1, 2009, and
June 30 of this year, according to the report prepared for the
Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhood Services.

More than half the sweeps took place in the SDPD Mid-City and
Southeastern divisions.

Most of the youngsters were detained for curfew-related
violations, but 109 were stopped for being drunk in public; 86 were
arrested for resisting officers; 36 for burglary; 26 for driving
under the influence; and 22 for auto theft, according to the
SDPD.

The stakes are high, because 40 percent of violent crimes
involving youth in the city of San Diego take place during the
curfew hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., including more than half of all
rapes.

Most of those picked up, once reunited with their parents, are
turned over to the community groups, which include churches, the
military, SAY San Diego and the Encanto Boys & Girls Club,
which provide diversion services.

"The real key is the community involvement," Councilman Tony
Young said. "These are neighborhood people who are stepping up,
neighborhood groups who are stepping up. You are literally saving
lives for what you have done."

The San Diego Unified School District has also become involved
in the sweeps.

At a recent meeting of the SDUSD Board of Education,
Superintendent Bill Kowba said he rode along on a sweep and called
it an "an eye-opening experience."